Norway idea to exit oil stocks a 'shot heard around the world'

New York

NORWAY'S proposal to sell off US$35 billion in oil and gas stocks brings sudden and unparalleled heft to a once-grassroots movement to enlist investors in the fight against climate change.

The Nordic nation's US$1 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday that it's considering unloading its shares of Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and other oil giants to diversify its holdings and guard against drops in crude prices.

European oil stocks fell.

Norges Bank Investment Management would not be the first institutional investor to back away from fossil fuels. But until now, most have been state pension funds, universities and other smaller players that have limited their divestments to coal, tar sands or some of…